HTC: The smartphone-lover's underdog

Updated: 2 weeks ago

In Short

There's no denying HTC's legacy as a smartphone designer and manufacturer. But it's having a hard time making money in the present-day world.

HTC was making smartphones long before you knew it. Long before the HTC One. Long before Sense. Long before Android, and even before those of us who cut our teeth on Windows Mobile knew those three little letters meant we were going to get something special.

For most of us, HTC as we know it started out as an ODM — an original device manufacturer — essentially a white-label manufacturer. HTC design, only with another company's name on the product. All the way back to 2002, back when XDA was a device and not a website (where did you think the name came from?), though HTC itself was born in Taiwan in 1997 as High-Tech Computer Corporation as a laptop manufacturer. A year later it got into the mobile business.

HTC made the HP iPAQ and the Palm Treo. Shortly thereafter. In October 2009 it adopted the "Quietly Brilliant" slogan. It was the company that did great work, but wasn't flashy about it. The name "HTC" no longer was an insider secret. HTC skinned Windows Mobile with the far more attractive TouchFLO, which ultimately morphed into the Sense user interface we know today. The Windows Mobile-running HTC HD2 was a ridiculously large 4.3-inch device (hey, it was 2009!) that still gets hacker love today. HTC made the first Android smartphone, the HTC Dream — or the G1, depending on who you ask. It was the HTC Hero that brought us the first Android iteration of Sense. HTC made the first "Google phone," the Nexus One.

Fast forward a few years, and we have the likes of the HTC One line, and Sense 6.0.

That's not to say it's all peaches and cream for HTC in its current form. For as beloved as its devices are, the company is struggling to turn a profit. It has nowhere near the marketing budget of rivals like Samsung. (But who does, really?) And the "Quietly Brilliant" slogan has been retired.

01 December 2015 10By Jared DiPaneAccording to some new documents, HTC and Under Armour appear to be working together on a new connected scale. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group website has a new listing for the "UA Scale."

25 November 2015 20By Jared DiPaneHTC is trying a new way to connect back with the Android community, as it opens the doors to its own preview program. The company took to Reddit for an Ask Me Anything (AMA), in which it answered questions from consumers about the program and how it will work.

19 November 2015 13By Dan Thorp-LancasterHTC connected product marketing chief, Jeff Gattis, who has been heavily involved with the HTC Vive, has left the company to join Magic Leap, a mysterious Google-backed augmented reality startup.

10 November 2015 32By Rich EdmondsThe manufacturer is running a promotion for today only that sees up to 30% taken off products available on the HTC store. You'll be able to save almost a third off listed prices should you fork out at least $650, which covers the HTC One M9.

03 November 2015 50By Rich EdmondsHTC has announced a sweet deal for today only. You'll be able to purchase the Nexus 9 tablet directly from the manufacturer's website for just $239. That's a full 40% off the original listing price.

30 October 2015 91By Jared DiPaneHTC has announced its Q3 2015 earnings, which unfortunately don't look too pretty for the company. The Taiwanese manufacturer recorded a revenue of NT$21.4 billion, which is nearly half of its NT$41.9 billion from the same quarter in 2014.

23 October 2015 14By John CallahamHTC has issued a new statement confirming that its plans to release new fitness wearable products, in collaboration with Under Armour, have been delayed again until sometime in early 2016.

21 October 2015 43By Andrew MartonikEvery Android fan knows about the T-Mobile G1 (aka the HTC Dream) as the first Android-powered phone made available to consumers, but before that milestone was this, Sooner.

20 October 2015 17By John CallahamHTC went all out with the announcement of its new HTC One A9 smartphone, posting a bunch of official promo videos for their upcoming mid-range phone with Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

20 October 2015 42By Rich EdmondsHTC is today holding an event to announce some new hardware. Luckily, for those who aren't able to attend, you'll be able to check out the event right here on Android Central, courtesy of the official live stream.

21 September 2015 6By John CallahamFrontier Developments will update their PC massively multiplayer space sim Elite: Dangerous to support the HTC Vive virtual reality headset. The update, which will add SteamVR support, will be released late in 2015.

11 September 2015 16By Phil NickinsonThere's been a lot of rumory talk about new HTC flagships and watches and events in Japan scheduled for a few weeks from now. Here's what you can really expect to see. (Hint: Rumors are just rumors, folks.)

09 September 2015 45By Rich EdmondsIt has been reported that HTC is actively working on a smartwatch powering Android Wear, codenamed "Halfbeak". While details are scarce on this unannounced wearable, the company does plans to hold an event later this month, which could lay host to such a product being present.

29 August 2015 14By John CallahamHTC co-founder Peter Chou will join the well-known movie visual effects studio Digital Domain as an executive director on August 31. He will not be leaving HTC, however, as this new gig will reportedly help Chou to improve his company's virtual reality efforts.

27 August 2015 16By John CallahamAs promised by Verizon earlier this month, the carrier is now selling the mid-range HTC Desire 626 smartphone. The full price for the phone is $192, or customers can pay $8 a month for 24 months.